I think the game is in a great place right now. Many idiots will argue the top tiers are too strong (Cammy, Akuma, Guile and Menat) but most of the tournaments are very open and a wide range of characters are appearing in the top 16 of events. Birdie, Abigail, Ibuki, Urien, Bison, Kolin, Mika, and Ken have all been represented recently. With the damage nerf to CC combos I feel like the game has been much better to watch. I still think stun racks up to fast. Despite Gief being a bottom tier character I'm also having a lot of fun playing the game, especially as I get to play offline every week here in Tokyo. In the past few weeks, I've played against Nemo, Daigo, Fujimura, Itazan, StormKubo, MOV, Fuudo, Haitani, and John Takeuchi. You learn so much faster here. There are no egos, the pros will play against anyone willing to challenge them. Much better than Europe, which always felt like there were cliques and it was impossible to get involved unless you were considered a top player.